Simplon-Express, 1906

CommentaryThe poster comes from a series of similar posters for various trains. Each shows three photographs, framed in borders of different colours. They are exceptional for being the first reproductions of photographs on a poster. The Robaudy printing company in Cannes succeeded in reproducing a photograph in a poster format using an engraving technique. The large photo shows the Milan Cathedral. Trams circle around its forecourt and a few people enliven the scenery. The black and white photograph depicts a moment that really existed. Other posters for the same train show the cathedral in the manner of a painting without trams and people and bathed in a solemn light. The print reproduction of the photograph is in fact a sensation, but one which initially had no successors – the pictorially exaggerated and idealised image is what was wanted for the viewers, who themselves were accustomed to such images, so that this poster remained unique. Only some 20 years later did photograph become an ingredient in posters, vastly extending their formal language.

The poster comes from a series of similar posters for various trains. Each shows three photographs, framed in borders of different colours. They are exceptional for being the first reproductions of photographs on a poster. The Robaudy printing company in Cannes succeeded in reproducing a photograph in a poster format using an engraving technique. The large photo shows the Milan Cathedral. Trams circle around its forecourt and a few people enliven the scenery. The black and white photograph depicts a moment that really existed. Other posters for the same train show the cathedral in the manner of a painting without trams and people and bathed in a solemn light. The print reproduction of the photograph is in fact a sensation, but one which initially had no successors – the pictorially exaggerated and idealised image is what was wanted for the viewers, who themselves were accustomed to such images, so that this poster remained unique. Only some 20 years later did photograph become an ingredient in posters, vastly extending their formal language.